Rowbottom in pole position as NEAFL MVP voting becomes withheld

The 2019 NEAFL MVP Award is set up for an exciting finish with Sydney young gun James Rowbottom leading three-time winner Matthew Payne as voting now becomes withheld from the public.

Rowbottom made a statement on the weekend with the maximum 10 votes after an enormous performance, with the 18-year-old collecting 31 disposals (21 contested), 11 clearances, eight inside 50s, seven tackles and three goals.

Aspley’s Payne moved into second place on the leaderboard with six votes after 27 disposals, six clearances and a goal against NT Thunder. The 33-year-old champion has now polled 23 votes in the past three weeks to once again be a contender for competition’s highest individual honour.

Southport’s Tyler Roos (did not play) held on to third spot, with Canberra Demons defender and Rising Star nominee Angus Baker jumping in to fourth after earning seven votes.

Baker, 20, collected 35 disposals, 12 marks and eight rebound 50s as the Demons lost a close encounter by eight points against the Swans.

Sharks midfielder Matt Shaw (did not play) rounds out the top five.

The NEAFL Most Valuable Player Award is presented to the player uniquely judged the best in the competition by a combination of umpire and coaches votes.

The votes are submitted post-game cast on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. As such, the maximum amount of votes a single player can earn per match is 10 – courtesy of the maximum five votes from both umpires and coaches.

The progress of the MVP voting is published on the NEAFL website for the first 12 rounds of the season, but withheld from that point on until the winner is revealed at the end of season awards night.

 
NEAFL MVP VOTES – Round 12

Sydney University v Brisbane
9: Tom Berry (Brisbane)
6: Ben Keays (Brisbane)
5: Zac Bailey (Brisbane)
5: Tom Fullarton (Brisbane)
4: Corey Lyons (Brisbane)
1: Jake Bartholomaues (Sydney Uni)

Canberra v Sydney
10: James Rowbottom (Sydney)
7: Angus Baker (Canberra)
7: Robbie Fox (Sydney)
4: Tom Highmore (Canberra)
1: Tom Faul (Canberra)
1: Joel Amartey (Sydney)

NT Thunder v Aspley
10: Jake Spencer (Aspley)
6: Matthew Payne (Aspley)
4: Abraham Ankers (NT Thunder)
3: Jordan Hayden (Aspley)
3: James Ives (Aspley)
2: Nigel Lockyer Jnr (NT Thunder)
1: Kieren Parnell (NT Thunder)
1: Will Gowers (Aspley)
 
NEAFL MVP LEADERBOARD – Round 12

52: James Rowbottom (Sydney)
41: Matthew Payne (Aspley)
40: Tyler Roos (Southport)
37: Angus Baker (Canberra)
36: Matt Shaw (Southport)
34: Craig Malone (Redland)
33: Ryan Bastinac (Brisbane)
32: Abraham Ankers (NT Thunder)
31: Alex Smout (Canberra)
31: Adam Gulden (Sydney Uni)

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